Carlingford railway line
The Carlingford railway line is a former branch railway line in Sydney, Australia. It was opened from Clyde to Subiaco (later renamed Camellia) in January 1885, then by means of the construction of a bridge across the Parramatta River, to Carlingford in April 1896. The line runs north-south between the suburb of Carlingford and the Main Suburban railway line at Clyde. Passenger services on the line form part of the Sydney Trains commuter rail network and are marketed as the T6 Carlingford Line. The railway line's small catchment, low patronage, short platforms and single track for much of its length mean the T6 generally operates as a shuttle service, with passengers changing at Clyde for T1 North Shore, Northern & Western Line services to the Sydney central business district and Parramatta. Most of the line (Carlingford to Camellia) is planned for conversion to light rail as part of the Parramatta Light Rail network. The remainder of the permanently closed in 2020, apart from a short section which will be disused. Under Sydney Trains operations from 2013 to early 2020, the Carlingford Line was represented by the code on the network map and at stations. It was the last remaining line (aside from Lidcombe to Olympic Park shuttle services) to use S Sets, after they were withdrawn from rostered T2, T3 and T8 line services at the end of April 2019. S Sets were withdrawn from the Carlingford Line as of 28th June 2019, with K Sets replacing all weekday rosters. On weekends, the line was primarily run by M Sets. The line ceased operation from Sydney Trains on 5th January 2020, with the final day of service on including a special visit by heritage “Red Rattler” set F1, with M30 operating the final revenue service. Starting from cease of Sydney Trains operations up until commencement of the Parramatta Light Rail network in 2023, Carlingford Line trains will be permanently replaced by a new bus service, route 535, operated by CDC Hillsbus and runs from Carlingford to Parramatta to service affected customers between Carlingford and Camellia. Customers can access Clyde by changing for an alternate train service at Parramatta. Rosehill Gardens event shuttle buses will also operate during special events and race days. From January 17-19, works on removal of the tracks at Rosehill and the Parramatta Road level crossing will commence. More information on the closure and the new replacement 535 bus service can be found here: http://www.parramattalightrail.nsw.gov.au/news/t6-carlingford-line-close-5-january-2020 Route The Carlingford line branches off the Western line at Clyde heading north over Parramatta Road on a level crossing, before heading under the M4 Western Motorway to a station opposite Rosehill Gardens Racecourse. It is a double track line to this point. Immediately south of Rosehill, the two tracks join, before dividing into two bidirectional tracks, the Sandown line and the Carlingford line. At Rosehill, two platforms are provided, one four-car long platform on the Carlingford line and one platform which is approximately sixteen-cars long on the Sandown line track which is used for special events at the racecourse. During large special events at Rosehill Racecourse, such as horse racing meetings, a charter train is provided to operate a shuttle service with 20-minute frequency between Clyde and Rosehill only. The line then heads in a north-easterly direction over the Parramatta River to Carlingford. The stations from Camellia to Carlingford consist of a single platform of a sufficient length to accommodate four-car suburban trains. All other stations on the Sydney Trains network are capable of accommodating eight-car trains. There are no crossing loops or any further sections of double track on the line, and thus no capacity for trains to pass each other. The average 12 minute travel time between Clyde and Carlingford allows a theoretical maximum capacity of approximately two trains per hour on this line. The Carlingford line is Sydney's least-used suburban railway line, with the lowest overall patronage on the entire Sydney Trains suburban network. Up until 28 June 2019, it was one of the last remaining lines to run S Sets. After the retirement of the S Sets, services on weekdays up until closure were replaced by K Sets. Sidings A number of industrial and car storage sidings have been built on the line. Currently only one still remains in service. Starting from the Clyde end: #'Prestressed Concrete Siding' - located between Clyde station and the Parramatta Road crossing. Served the railways prestressed concrete manufacturing plant which no longer operates. Currently used to stable an automated track recording vehicle. The junction is on the branch down line with the points facing north (down). #'Shell Refinery Siding' - located between A'Beckett Creek and Rosehill station. The siding and junctions points have been removed. Junction was on the branch up line with the points facing south (up). #'Rheem Siding and Loop' - located at Rydalmere station. Served the Rheem factory. The siding consisted of a short loop line with junctions north and south of the original Rydalmere station and a siding branch into the factory itself at the southern end of the yard. The loop, factory branch and all junctions have been removed. The new Rydalmere station is now situated on the opposite side of the branch line from the original station and occupies the site of the former loop. #'Electricity Commission Siding' - located at the southern end of Carlingford station. The siding was built to move large electrical transformers into the Carlingford Electrical sub-station, one of the major substations distributing electric power to Sydney. The siding and junction points have been removed. The junction was on the run-around loop with the points facing north. #'Carlingford Produce Siding and Loop' - a locomotive run-around loop alongside Carlingford station and a siding serving the Carlingford Produce store. The produce store siding joined the run-around loop at the southern end of the station with the points facing south. The loop and siding, together with all their junctions, have been removed. #'Carlingford Car Storage Sidings' - a two track siding north of Carlingford station connected to both the branch line and the locomotive run-around loop. The sidings and junctions have been removed. Parramatta Light Rail Conversion In early 2020, the line permanently ceased operation under Sydney Trains (the final day of service being 5th January 2020) as part of a three-year period of conversion works to light rail for the upcoming Parramatta Light Rail network run with CAF Urbos 3 trams, which is scheduled to commence services in 2023. The line will also be widened into two tracks to allow extra services to operate under the new light rail operations. Camellia, Rydalmere, Dundas, Telopea and Carlingford stations will be converted into light rail stops with a second platform added, while Rosehill will permanently close and possibly be demolished to make way for redevelopment. Platform 1 at Clyde will also become permanently disused, with the other platforms remaining serviced by the T1 Western and T2 Inner West & Leppington Lines. Timetable and service frequency on other lines may also be changed to accommodate for the closure. After Camellia, the new light rail route will continue to 11 completely new light rail stops - Tramway Avenue, Harris Street, Parramatta Square, Eat Street, Prince Alfred Square, Fennell Street, Factory Street, Cumberland Hospital, Children’s Hospital Westmead, Westmead Hospital and Westmead Station. Following the closure, the other Sydney Trains lines will remain with their current numbers. It has been confirmed that none of the other lines will be renumbered to take over the T6 code due to possible confusion from customers, with the number system skipping directly from T5 (Cumberland Line) to T7 (Olympic Park Line). There may be possibility to reinstate the T6 code should a completely new line be constructed, though any plans for new heavy rail lines are currently unlikely due to all the current proposed rail expansions being planned for either Light Rail or Sydney Metro, both of which follow separate line numbering systems. During the 3-year construction period for the Light Rail, a new replacement bus service run by Hillsbus, route 535, will be introduced, serving from Parramatta (Valentine Avenue) to Carlingford, via Telopea, Dundas, Rydalmere and Camellia/Rosehill to supplement affected customers until Light Rail services commence in 2023. Services for the 535 buses will operate every 15 minutes, providing 4 services per hour as opposed to 2 for the previous trains. More information on the 535 buses can be found here: https://sydneybuses.fandom.com/wiki/Route_535 History The line was opened in two sections: Clyde to Camellia was opened on 17 November 1888, and Camellia to Carlingford (then known as Pennant Hills) was opened on 20 April 1896. Telopea Station was added in 1925. Originally the line was privately owned by two companies: the line from Clyde to Rosehill was owned by a Mr John Bennett and the line from Rosehill to Carlingford was owned by the Rosehill Railway Company. The lines were taken over by their bank in 1896, with the Government purchasing the line in 1898 and reopening services on 1 August 1900. The line from Clyde to Rosehill was electrified on 12 December 1936. The electrification was extended to Carlingford on 9 August 1959. After electrifiction, services were operated by 3 car single deck trains marshalled into Y-Sets, until their final withdrawal in 1993. In early 2007 the pedestrian crossings at Telopea and Dundas stations were rebuilt. The new automatic crossings provide audible and visual warnings of an approaching train and a short time later close the metal gates. Over the week of 20 October to 26 October 2007, the section of track from Telopea to Carlingford was completely replaced, utilising concrete sleepers instead of timber ones. The section from Telopea to Rosehill was similarly upgraded over the fortnight of 22 June to 3 July 2009. The railway remains on timber sleepers from Rosehill to Clyde. The line was colour coded orange in Sydney Trains promotional material until 1991 when it was coded yellow (along with the Western Line). Since 2000, it has been colour coded dark blue. Modification Proposals Various inquiries and studies have been undertaken since on the future of the Carlingford line. A major problem remains the level crossing on Parramatta Road, which holds up peak hour traffic when trains travel across the road. Proposals have been made including underground tunnel links to Clyde or Granville stations, or even to replace the line altogether with a more frequent light rail or busway service. The State Government originally planned for the Carlingford line to be part of Stage 2 of the Parramatta Rail Link. The plan would have incorporated the majority of the line, where the line between Carlingford and Camellia would have been duplicated. Telopea, Dundas, and Rydalmere stations would also have been duplicated and upgraded to service eight car trains. Camellia station would have been demolished, Rosehill station closed and replaced by a new underground station with a preliminary name of 'Rosehill/Camellia'. Carlingford station would also have been replaced by a new underground station. Various proposals were put forward, including a three-way underground junction near Carlingford linking the station to the proposed North West Rail Link as well as the line to Chatswood. In 2003 the then Minister for Transport, Michael Costa announced that only Stage 1 of the line, from Chatswood to Epping, would be constructed, and the Carlingford line section indefinitely postponed. However, on 11 August 2010, the Federal Government promised A$2.6 billion towards this project, who, along with the NSW State Government, will extend the line from Epping to Parramatta through the Carlingford line. Carlingford station, along with Telopea, Dundas, Rydalmere and Parramatta, would be upgraded, and Camellia and Rosehill stations would be demolished. A new station, Rosehill-Camellia, would be built. The line would be upgraded to accommodate 8-carriage trains, and the line would be duplicated. Work was due to start in 2011, with a prospected 2017 finish. However, the State Election in March 2011 changed the political party in Government. This resulted in a change of priorities and a disagreement between the Federal and NSW governments over the funding for this proposal. The project is once again on hold with no projected start date. A large amount of land lies behind Carlingford station, for future extensions of the line. A redevelopment of the land next to the station was subsequently put on hold because of the postponement of the link. Under the Rail Clearways Plan, the line was to have a crossing loop constructed at Dundas station and thus increase train frequency to half-hourly throughout the day, however this project was cancelled in November 2008. In January 2020, the Carlingford Line closed down to be converted and replaced by the upcoming Parramatta Light Rail network, with a replacement bus service to take over during the construction period. The existing stations will likely be left intact, but with the existing heavy rail tracks covered over with concrete and fitted with tram tracks for the new system. It has been confirmed that none of the other lines will be renumbered to take over the T6 code, creating an obvious numbering gap for the first time since the establishment of Sydney Trains’ suburban line coding system. Replacement Bus Service (Route 535) The route 535 service, operated by Hillsbus, will commence upon closure of the line in order to make way for construction of the L4 Parramatta Light Rail. 535 services will be running from Carlingford to Parramatta every 15 minutes during the light rail construction period: https://transportnsw.info/news/2019/t6-carlingford-line-conversion Stations *Clyde *Rosehill *Camellia *Rydalmere *Dundas *Telopea *Carlingford Gallery Stations ClydeStation.jpg|Clyde RosehillStation.JPG|Rosehill CamelliaStation.JPG|Camellia RydalmereStation.JPG|Rydalmere DundasStation.JPG|Dundas TelopeaStation.JPG|Telopea CarlingfordStation.jpg|Carlingford Category:Closed Railway Lines